The Tuono came out in 2002 and the Streetfighter was released in 2009! A V4 Streetfighter is an exiting prospect. I guess they will take the Tuono route and it will be a Superbike with bars. Personally I would rather they make something a little more independent from the Pani, but they have the Monster for that so it’s unlikely.
Either the perspective or the bike’s proportions (or both) don’t look right in that computer generated image. Looks lardy IMO. Andy
I wonder if this means the end of the Monster 1200? It doesn't look like we are going to see another hypermotard anytime soon and it's kind of odd that the middle Monster still has the 821. Previously the 821 in restricted guise was Ducati's only A2 friendly bike but the whole range of Scramblers and the Monster 797 suit that need now. So I was shocked the 821 wasn't bumped to the 939 engine. Excited about a V4 SF though! The 1100 will no doubt be silly money but I could see a smaller capacity, 900cc ish V4 Streetfighter being a future purchase. That really is dreaming though.
If it is silly money Ducati will be making the same mistake that they made with the original Streetfighter. A V4 SF has to compete directly with Aprilia and KTM and it needs to do it on price as well as performance. The days when Ducati can think of themselves as a premium brand and just assume that people will pay 50% extra for a badge and some notional Italian exotica thing are gone. A few die-hard Ducati fans might but they won't keep sales afloat and the other consumers are more hard nosed. I hope Ducati realise that and produce a bike that will sell. I think there's room for a streetfighter and a Monster. The Monster isn't a supernaked IMO, its a Monster in a category of its own. It was always an accessible urban roadster never a stripped down sports bike and as it's the model that saved the company from ruin in the 1990s they'll always find room for one in the range. But the market has room for a Ducati Streetfighter as well provided its priced to sell.
I suspect they will continue with iterations of the monster, it still sells well and is probably the only 'iconic' bike left
I just hope the drop the Streetfighter name. For me it conjures up images of shagged old Bandits with loads of bolt on crap and SRADS with straight bars.
That mock-up looks like any I/L four supernaked. It could be made to look good with a bit of tasteful styling. No reason why a beam frame naked V4 can't look decent. I actually think the 1100 Tuono looks good. At least the standard model blue one does. The Factory has been spoiled by plastering it in silly faux racer graphics. That's one vice at least Ducati have never had. They still know how to make a statement with shape and form and unmolested paintwork.
I really like the new design language at Ducati. The Supersport and V4 Pani are very clean shapes. Seems it's upset some but when you see them parked next to other bikes, they look a lot 'fresher' and the other bikes look old. Usually a sign of good design. I Hope they put as much work into the cleaning up the engine bay as they did with the XDiavel.
If it's styled anything like the previous one, probably like something a monkey could have done better!
The street fighter had limited appeal hence why it didn’t sell. I can’t see that the market has changed that much.
BMW S1000R, Yamaha MT10, Speed Triple, KTM SuperDuke and Aprilia Tuono. I don’t think these guys would be constantly updating and pushing these models if it wasn’t worth it. Naked bikes of all sizes are leading most manufacturers sales figures - with these bike being the flagship models. The Tuono now outsells the RSV. Ducati just need to be carful on pricing or people will just carry on buying all of the above.
It's not just about the UK. Supernakeds sell well in Europe the US, Australia and increasingly Asia. KTM are already developing their post-Euro 5 Superduke (looks pretty alarming at the moment) that will retain current levels of power and aggression while complying with ever tighter rules. It must be costing them millions but the bike is their flagship road model and there's no sign of either the company or buyers giving up on it. Its the same for the other manufacturers. It is odd that Ducati hasn't got a horse in this race. I guess they're nervous having had their fingers burned the first time. But its simple really. You're not inventing a new category or trialling new technology. That bird flew long ago. Supernakeds are established mainstream best sellers. You don't need niche exoticism and stupid price tags: you need a solid high performance sports naked that competes with the opposition on performance and price and does it with Ducati vibe, and guess what guys, it'll sell. Get on with it.
Its too late. Ducatis are already overpriced when alternative manufacturers already have competative bikes at more competative prices. Look at R1M for instance. 19k, full carbon, all the gizmos. Nicer looking than fat ass v4 to boot. Its unlikely ill buy another red bike after pani. Or maybe an older one like 1098r.
